


Tea for Two

by BelladonnaLee



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Birthday, Bittersweet, Coffee Shops, Don't copy to another site, Friendship, M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:09:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25888624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BelladonnaLee/pseuds/BelladonnaLee
Summary: At a pavement cafe one summer morning, Blaise has tea with Draco and plays the part of a good friend—or so he tries to tell himself.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Blaise Zabini
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21
Collections: Rare Pair Shorts - Summer Wishlist Event 2020





	Tea for Two

**Author's Note:**

  * For [static_abyss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/static_abyss/gifts).



> Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter and its characters are not mine.
> 
> A/N: The story turns out longer and a bit more bittersweet than I thought. I hope you don't mind, static_abyss.

Beneath the cerulean blue sky one summer morning, Blaise strode briskly along an avenue lined with cherry blossom trees, a small paper bag dangling from his hand. Bruised pink petals scattered across the pavement after a night of rain, trampled and forgotten. The air smelled faintly of earth and rotting flowers. The city droned on, accompanied by the cries of birds and the occasional scurrying of small animals across the park.

There was still some time left before Blaise was due to meet a certain someone at the café, but he did not slow down to admire the scenery. Leaving the cherry blossom avenue behind him, he crossed the street, turned a corner into a cobblestone alley, and came upon a pocket of the town lined with small shops and pavement cafés.

Sitting at a table outside one such café, a familiar figure entered Blaise's line of sight: pale blond hair falling over a chiselled face, slender hands holding up a soft-cover book, and a waistcoat worn over a slate grey shirt. In spite of the warm weather, that certain someone in his long-sleeved shirt did not seem to feel it. He stood out in more ways than one amongst the handful of people loitering about in this corner of the city.

 _And you are biased where he's concerned,_ a voice mocked Blaise in his head. Letting out a breath, Blaise went over to where that certain someone was, and without ceremony he shoved the paper bag at that certain someone's direction. "The special blend you asked for. Think of it as your birthday present."

With a start Draco blinked at Blaise for a heartbeat or two before taking the paper bag. "Thanks. I could've come pick it up at your café." He slipped his book into the paper bag and put the bag aside. "I'll get you something on your birthday."

"Right, I'll be looking forward to it." Blaise sat down at the table, skimmed through the menu, and turned to the server who came by to bring him a glass of water. "Iced tea. No syrup. Do you have lemon tarts? Not till noon? Then I'll just have iced tea with two slices of lemon. No syrup."

Once the server went away with the order, Blaise leant back in his chair and found Draco looking at him with a hint of a smile on his lips. "What?"

"I was just thinking that something never changes."

"You'll be surprised," Blaise muttered as he contemplated the man who was his friend, his former classmate and something more—the older, wiser, mellower, lonelier Draco Malfoy. "How's Scorpius?"

"He's all right—or so he wrote in his letters," Draco whispered, speaking more to himself than to Blaise. "I would have to take his words for it, don't I?" In the next beat, the shadow upon his visage fell away, and he was his usual nonchalant self once more. "He's busy with his exams, but he sent me a card and a present this morning."

Blaise raised his eyebrows. "Oh? What did he give you?"

"A little something that he made himself." His expression softened ever so slightly, Draco picked up his cup of green tea and drank a mouthful. Beside the blue ceramic teapot was a plate of egg sandwiches, half-eaten. "He sent along a small cake too. Must've got it from the school kitchen."

"He wouldn't be your son if he's afraid of bending a few rules," Blaise pointed out, which brought a chuckle out of Draco.

The server came back with the iced tea, placed it on the table, and went on his way once more. In the chilled glass, two slices of lemon were submerged in a sea of black tea and ice cubes. Blaise stabbed the lemon slices with the long spoon and took a sip. The lemon flavour was not as strong as he would like, but it would do.

"How are you these days?" Draco asked casually as he put down his cup.

"Busy running a café," Blaise said with a straight face. After swirling the iced tea with the spoon a few times, he left it alone and crossed his arms. "You should come by more often. I could use more business."

A ghost of a smile played upon Draco's lips. With a pang Blaise wondered when was the last time he had seen Draco smile a genuine smile. "I'll do that," Draco said. "Got any new admirers lately?"

Eyes narrowed, Blaise shot Draco a quick look, though he was not as annoyed as he appeared to be. "I wouldn't know." And he left it at that. "Are you still running that wine business?"

"It passes the time."

Blaise let out a noncommittal sound and drank some more iced tea. The ice-cold drink cooled his head and brought him a moment of clarity. _You are being paranoid, Blaise Zabini,_ he told himself, and he tried not to read too much into Draco's remark. "Is there anything else going on in your life other than your son and your work?"

Looking ever so thoughtful, Draco tilted his head slightly to one side. "No, I can't say there is. I'm hardly leading the most adventurous life. Unlike a certain someone I know." He gave Blaise a pointed look.

"Whoever it is you are implying, you've overestimated him."

With that Blaise sipped his iced tea and gazed at the spot just beyond Draco's ear. A light breeze drifted by and toyed with Draco's hair. For a second or two, Blaise had an urge to reach out and brush back the blond strands falling over Draco's ear, but he restrained himself—as always. "Are you seeing anyone?"

There was a flicker in those grey eyes of Draco's, but it might have been a trick of the light and nothing more. A beat or two later, he let out a breath, and the curve of his lips became ever so wry. "You sound like Pansy." A pause. "No, I'm not seeing anyone."

"Just asking."

The conversation came to a momentary lull, pregnant silence hinting at unspoken words. Lost in thought, Draco cradled the teacup and ran a thumb over the cup's ear. Blaise's gaze were drawn to Draco's hand, to those long, slender fingers that were pleasing to the eye, and to the blue veins that were just visible beneath the translucent skin.

A wedding ring glinted dull silver on Draco's finger like a dream from yesteryear, a memento of the woman who was lost to him. Astoria had seemed like a dream, a transient dream that had passed on two years ago. Had it already been two years since she passed away, Blaise wondered as various emotions came over him.

He had seen Draco's spoiled, wayward side; he had seen Draco's thoughtful, mature side; he had seen Draco in his vulnerable moments. He had seen Draco fall in and out of love; he had seen Draco break someone's heart and have his heart broken. He had seen Draco fall apart after Astoria's death; he had seen Draco pick himself back up piece by bloody piece for Scorpius' sake.

 _When will you take off the ring_ —Blaise would not ask Draco that.

"And you? Are you seeing anyone?" Draco spoke up and shattered the spell of silence.

Returning to himself, Blaise thought about the last time he was involved with someone in some semblance of a relationship. _There is someone else you love, isn't there,_ his former lover once said to him before they broke up. It was not the first time a lover asked him that; it would not be the last time either.

"No, I'm enjoying my freedom as much as I can while being saddled with a café."

"If you say so." Draco did not seem convinced, but he did not ask further. "I tried making coffee with a cafetière the other day, but it turned out very bitter." And the conversation digressed.

Little by little the ice cubes in Blaise's glass were melting away. Condensation glided down the side of the glass and onto the table, forming a broken ring of water upon the tabletop. After taking a sip of the somewhat tepid iced tea, Blaise rested his elbows on the table and gestured at the remaining egg sandwich that was left uneaten on Draco's plate.

"If you aren't eating that, I'll take it."

With the faintest of a smile Draco pushed the plate over to Blaise. "Do you have any anecdotes you would like to share? The kind of things ordinary people talk to their friends about."

His hand hovering over the sandwich, Blaise looked up from the plate and met Draco's expectant gaze. Draco did not mean anything in particular, of course, and the notion left a shadow of agitation in Blaise. Heaving a breath, he withdrew his hand, leant back in his chair, and gazed into Draco's eyes.

"I'm in love with you."

Silence stretched in the space between Blaise and Draco. Those slate grey eyes of Draco's were fixed upon Blaise, scrutinising, contemplating, searching for a hint to the truth. As butterflies fluttered in his stomach, Blaise watched and waited with bated breath. Once the initial surprise and confusion ebbed away, Draco curled his fingers around the teacup with a pensive look on his face.

"I'm sorry. I have no idea," Draco said quietly. "For how long?"

"I don't remember," Blaise replied with deliberate nonchalance—a lie.

A flicker of emotion came and went upon Draco's visage, too quick for anyone but Blaise to catch. Folding his hands on his lap, Draco took a deep breath and spoke those words Blaise could already surmise. "I've never thought of you that way."

"Yes, I thought so too," Blaise said. Those words he could no longer take back had left a hole in his heart, and a feeling of emptiness took hold of his being. "I'm not asking for anything. Come by the café sometimes and have a cup of coffee or tea or whatever. I'll treat you to the first cup—just the first cup, mind."

A ghost of a smile appeared for a heartbeat or two upon Draco's lips. Having watched Draco for more years than he could count, Blaise knew everything would be as it was—at least in appearance. "I look forward to your best cup of coffee," Draco said, and he faltered for a moment before speaking up once more. "Thank you."

Stricken with a pang of wistfulness, Blaise could not quite tell if Draco was being cruel or kind or both. "Right. Happy Birthday, by the way. You've finally caught up with me."

Draco smiled a wry smile as always, the same smile from their schooldays a lifetime ago, and as always Blaise watched on in silence across the table.

Someday, he would be involved with someone again—someone who was not Draco—be it out of affection or loneliness or a need to assuage whatever feelings Draco might harbour towards the confession. For now, however, he wanted to watch Draco some more, even if he was not the one walking by Draco's side.

Blaise picked up the egg sandwich, ate it in several bites, and washed everything down with some lukewarm tea, along with words and feelings that were left behind in the void. Somehow, the tea tasted of bitterness and lemon and a lingering hint of sweetness.

* * * * * * *

_Finis._

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I came across Hikaru Utada's song "Time" while I was working on this, and to my pleasant surprise, the song fit the image of this story quite well. Thank you for reading.


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